Al-Qaeda Suicide Bomb Attacks Kill Six Soldiers In Yemen

Pro-government protesters perform the weekly Friday prayers during a rally in Sanaa August 29, 2014. Talks on forming a new Yemeni government collapsed this week over demands by Shi'ite Muslim Houthis to restore fuel subsidies cut by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Photo: Reuters/Mohamed al-Sayaghi

An Al-Qaeda affiliate killed six soldiers in Yemen Sunday, announcing on Twitter the deaths marked the start of a "widespread campaign." The attacks by Ansar Al-Shariah were among the deadliest and most coordinated in southern Yemen since the army launched a campaign earlier this year to rid Abyan and Shabwa provinces of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula militants.

Ansar al-Sharia announced on Twitter it had launched a "widespread campaign in Shabwa province on Sunday at noon that targeted a number of military and security locations for the Sanaa regime." The attacks were in the form of suicide bombings -- one in the Gol al-Rayda district, the other near a checkpoint in Azzan, both in Shabwa province.

Reuters reported security forces killed five militants who tried to take over a police station in the eastern province of Hadramount. Last week, thousands of supporters of the Shiite Houthi group protested in the streets, demanding the overthrow of the government. They expressed anger at corruption within the state an the recent increase in fuel prices.

The United Nations Security Council Friday called on Yemen's Shiite Muslim Houthis to end hostilities against the government.

“The Security Council expresses grave concern about the deterioration of the security situation in Yemen in light of the action taken by the Houthis, led by Abdul Malik al-Houthi, and those who support them, to undermine the political transition and the security of Yemen,” the council said in a statement.

Al-Arabiya television Sunday aired a video showing a man who is thought to be a British oil worker kidnapped in Yemen. In the video, the man appeared blindfolded and pleaded for his release.

In an attempt to prevent the person from committing suicide, Avleen K. Mokha in her Facebook post wrote, "Don't go ahead with this tonight. There's more in life to look forward to beyond tonight. Please be there to see it."